Lesson plan
Sensing Changes
Sensing Changes: Technologies, Environments, and the Everyday, 1953–2003 is a 2010 book by Canadian historian Joy Parr. The book examines the "embodied histories" of Canadians who were affected by Canadian megaprojects in the postwar period, assessing how such developments, which significantly altered local environments, affected people's senses of place and identity through their sensory experiences. The book features cases studies such as the damming of the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, the relocation of the village of Iroquois as part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway project, and the construction of a NATO base in rural New Brunswick. The book also explores the E. coli outbreak that occurred in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000. Beyond just documenting the changes brought about by such developments, which were significant in remaking entire landscapes, Parr argues that these periods of sudden changes for local residents reveal important insights into embodied knowledge, or the ways in which we come to know our surroundings through sensory engagement. The book effectively demonstrates that "[t]he human body... becomes the fundamental archive of historical experience that is researchable through written and oral accounts of lived experience."
Article summary
Sensing Changes: Technologies, Environments, and the Everyday, 1953–2003 is a 2010 book by Canadian historian Joy Parr. The book examines the "embodied histories" of Canadians who were affected by Canadian megaprojects in the postwar period, assessing how such developments, which significantly altered local environments, affected people's senses of place and identity through their sensory experiences. The book features cases studies such as the damming of the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, the relocation of the village of Iroquois as part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway project, and the construction of a NATO base in rural New Brunswick. The book also explores the E. coli outbreak that occurred in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000. Beyond just documenting the changes brought about by such developments, which were significant in remaking entire landscapes, Parr argues that these periods of sudden changes for local residents reveal important insights into embodied knowledge, or the ways in which we come to know our surroundings through sensory engagement. The book effectively demonstrates that "[t]he human body... becomes the fundamental archive of historical experience that is researchable through written and oral accounts of lived experience."
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.